This is it. The last post of this blog's lifespan, or at least its present incarnation. It's not really my way to go out with anything flashier so this will have to do for now. Thanks for reading these past few years. Thanks to the players who read (I know that some of you did, if only to see how I might shoot my mouth on any given day). Thanks to the players I've interacted with over the years in places like stadia and that one time, the bar in a bowling alley. Thanks to the friends and family who took my criticism of a player's ability a bit too personally as you were often a source of information I wouldn't have otherwise (off-field stuff) and while I didn't really ever come around to your viewpoints, because hey, I'm supposed to be coming at this with a critical eye, thanks for being so passionate as to defend your guy. Thanks to the people that e-mailed to share information or show appreciation of what I was doing. Thanks and apologies to those whom I never e-mailed back. I have this bad tendency to overextend myself and end up doing twenty things at any given time, which means responses sometimes fall by the wayside even though the initial e-mail was much appreciated. It's been a longer run than most people have covering a single organization's farm team, and I've seen so very many blogs come and go that sometimes I start to think that I may as well continue, since I appeared to be in it for the long haul. But as I've said before, as much as I love minor league baseball, and as much fun as I've had doing this, and as many times over the past couple of months I've thought to myself "that wasn't so bad… I'm kind of looking forward to April!", I know that the amount of attention and time this demands is more than I can easily provide anymore, what with being in grad school and all. I'd rather not have this whole thing continue on as something where I'm going just going through the motions, or worse considering that by August I'm usually going through the motions anyway. I can't really pass the torch to anyone else, and wouldn't want to in good conscience, but the information is more widely available than ever, so I can't feel too bad about leaving. I'll still be around doing guest spots and stuff for the major blogs in the Seattle sphere, but as for dailies, it's been real, and I'm out. Final thanks to the few rubes who wander in during the coming months to say "hey, this is a neat blog and all, but when are you going to update again? You haven't posted anything in months." The reading comprehension they're teaching in schools is appalling.

We start with the Australian Baseball League, as has been our recent inclination. I've seen some videos up for their games on ustream these days, but in a lot of cases it's some dude in the stands with a camera, so if you need a fix that badly, know what you're getting into. Almonte has upped his power game slugging three home runs in twenty-two ABs, but he also struck out nine times, without walking, which means that this explosion for him might mean about as much as it did for Peguero. Talent and flaws both still persist. Jones has gotten some additional power (three doubles, two dingers), and struck out five times in eighteen ABs, which is also kind of unpleasant, but he also walked four times and that's improving his OBP. It would be nice to see a real breakout from him considering his High Desert numbers were bad, and limited. I would think that they might give him a running start there before sending him on to double-A. McOwen slipped a bit in the overall line, but still contributed somewhat. Tanabe broke out about as much as he could with five hits in twelve at-bats, including a double. Perhaps he's making some long-delayed adjustments.

That's probably the bulk of what I have to say about the goings on. Britton's numbers dropped this past week, and the only thing that happened in the Dominican League is that Bonilla went active with another team. Peguero, Triunfel, even Arias and Castro... none were active this week. That might mean something, or it might just not.

Venezuela was also a bit of an empty space as the only ones active this week were the Jimenezes, Limonta, Quiroz, and Yepez. Cesar still isn't striking anyone out. Jose is and maintains respectable numbers overall. Luis hits, as he is wont to do. Limonta walked once more and hit a home run, but was mostly about singles his week. Quiroz also hit a home run and had some slight improvements. Yepez continued to struggle now that he's earned his playing time. We had seven actives last week and six this week, with mostly the same names, though some substitutions were present. Probably the most significant thing was that Campos finally hit his inning cap and is done now.

I know I said that I'd type up Parellel League stats at the end here, but the prospect of adding twenty-five odd names in hitting alone didn't really make me happy, so I'll link it instead. Liga Paralela. From there, you can navigate to the Mariners team or try to parse out who is ours from Lara and other squads. I have a few things to say about that, like "hey, Palma's really slugging again and maybe this will be his year to head stateside", but I obviously don't have that kind of information so speculation seems unwarranted. It is pleasing to see Burin continuing to get on base, and whoever this Alberto Velasquez fellow is (not to be confused with Roberto Velasquez), he seems to be doing quite well. Also, Leal, who is supposed to be making his debut next year, is not doing well, but isn't really bad either. The pitching crop is less impressive and I think that the only one I'd point to as doing something that people might not be noticing yet is Ricardo Pereira, whose ERA is worse than his numbers would suggest otherwise. Victor Sanchez also has had a decent run for his experience and could be on track for Peoria next year. Our pitching squad also featured an Ugueth Urbina, who is probably the son of the former reliever who is now in jail after chasing around farm workers with a machete and then spraying them with gasoline. This is weird.

Things have a way of continuing to happen though, and probably the biggest of the big things was the announcement of a new CBA. That article breaks down a lot of it if not all, so I won't bother to reiterate the ways in which quite a lot has changed. And not much is positive in those changes. Rob Neyer thought in spite of all the uproar, maybe we should wait and see. Dave Cameron, plainly, hated it and thought that it hurt the Mariners a lot with its new rules on international free agency. Churchill also had his spin on it, which saw some positives and some negatives. I think I settle somewhere in between, because on one hand, the new rules may steer international athletes away from baseball or provide them with fewer opportunities (Churchill seems to think this is already happening), which is capital b Bad, but on the other, teams that have incredible ground operations like we do and are capable of digging up players are still in good shape. Felix signed for less than a million. Pineda signed for far less than Felix did, and years later at that. Neither Liddi nor Peguero nor Medina, to go through a few names on the 40-man, cost a whole lot of money to acquire. I'm not a fan of this going down, and do think that throws off the equilibrium for teams that relied on internal development, which is bad as a fan of minor league baseball, but it's probably not the end of the world. Most things are not the end of the world, the end of the world excluded. I'm pretty sure that's only happened a few times though.

As usual, some transactions happened. Most recently, the Mariners announced that SS Luis Rodriguez re-signed with an invitation to spring training, an invitation also extended to Fox, Jarrett Grube (yay!), Marquez, Henn, and newcomer LHP Steve Garrison, who is one more Steve added for your consideration (SO MANY OF THEM). I suggested before that Rodriguez might re-sign given that there's an open position (backup shortstop/infielder) and not a great deal of internal competition for it at the moment. I have also indicated that I'm pleased that Rodriguez is walking because, hey, we ranked 28th of 30 in walks last year and every little bit helps. Brendan Ryan played in 123 games last year and was fifth on the team with thirty-four walks. Rodriguez had twenty-four walks in twenty-six games as of last week. As for the new guy, Garrison was a prep draft pick of the Brewers in the 10th round of 2005, and we all basically know what that means (Except he was traded to the Padres later and then picked up on waivers by the Yankees… whatever). Garrison was in the high-80s as a high school senior and touched the low-90s with the thought that he could add more. He also was reported as having a solid slider and some regarded him as a signability risk due to a commitment to North Carolina. He made his major league debut this year, against us, incidentally, and threw two-thirds of an inning with six of nine pitches for strikes. His velocity was high-80s in that limited sample, and he's kind of sputtered in the high minors due to a drop in Ks, a slight uptick in walks, and generally being hittable. He's been a starter the whole way up, so there's always that possibility that something different will happen if he's put in the bullpen, but I have no way of knowing whether the M's will be attempting this.

In other news of some importance to us, the Tacoma Rainiers lost Alonzo Powell to the hated Padres who hired him as an assistant batting coach. Of course, since there can only be so many coaches in a dugout at any given time, his capacity is advisory and he can't be there during games. I guess it's a major league gig, but there were some Rainiers batters that worked well with him and he's gone turncoat on us. More fuel for our fierce rivalry. There was also an article at BA about the Mariners' relationship with the Lara Cardenales of the LVBP. If you don't know anything about that relationship, it's informative. If you do, it's probably nothing you haven't already heard at some point. BA also had an Arizona Fall League Top 10 for subscribers in which Hultzen was named the league's #3 prospect. Franklin didn't make the list, or the also-rans.

I guess that we'll start off making the rounds with the smaller leagues before we get to the big one. The Colombian League started play on Friday, but they haven't yet switched their stats over from last year to this year. This can sometimes be the case in the lesser leagues. That leaves us with Australia, the Dominican, Nicaragua, and Puerto Rico. The exports to Australia had eventful weeks, at least relative to what they had the previous week (in which case, anything would be relevant). McOwen pretty much stayed the course by going 5-for-15 and adding a triple and three walks. Jones went 4-for-15, which improves his average somewhat, and went yard, though the decrease in walk totals saw his OBP drop. Tanabe also featured somewhat mixed results because he did hit a home run, which is great, but that was his only hit in eleven at-bats. Of course, given that he's never played more than fifty games a season and was a backup for forty-eight games in Clinton last year, I suppose expectations should be kept in check somewhat. Almonte went 4-for-16 which I suppose is better than a lot of the alternatives. He struck out in a quarter of the ABs though. In the Dominican Republic, the only ones especially active were Castro, who managed 1.2 innings and let a run score (this lowered his ERA), Paredes, who threw two-thirds of an inning, and Peguero, whose predicted slide seems to be coming to pass though he still hit a home run and a double this week. Nine Ks in nineteen at-bats this week, friends. Britton, down in the Nicaraguan League, switched on again and was 8-for-17 this week with four walks. There were no extra-base hits, but it's fun to stare at in the way that mostly confusing things can be. And Carroll? He did pretty well too, going 5-for-12 on the week with a couple of doubles. I'm not seeing as much of the walks this week though, which is disappointing as that was one of the main things that made him interesting last season.

That brings us to the big league, which I should probably split into pitching and hitting again. Pitching didn't do a whole lot for us this week. Campos got another 3.1 innings in and ran a 5/3 K/BB in that span. I suppose I'm not overly concerned about the results for him at the moment though; that he's managing to hold ground in a league where he should be way over his head signals something good to me. If we had a Cal League affiliate that was in any way reasonable, I'd suggest that he skip over the Midwest League to start next season. Given how they handled Medina, they might try that anyway. Medina and Grube were both inactive, and a lot of others only managed a little bit of time. Nava got a frame in, and gave up a couple of runs. Raga pitched a third of an inning. Patterson, who might head elsewhere before this is all through, got an inning and a third in and gave up a run on a couple of hits. Felix's brother pitched a little and was less awful in purely relative terms. As for the Jimenezes, Jose is still doing his thing and maintaining that extra-low ERA, though I'd think that with his hit and walk totals he'd have a few more runs score against him, but Cesar just had a bad week, no two ways about it. In 4.0 innings, six runs scored on five hits and five walks. Recognizing that we need someone to be alive and in the bullpen and that we aren't immediately hitting up against the 40-man cap, I would still say that Jimenez' spot on the roster seems more vulnerable than some of the others might be.

News roundup first? That always seems to be the way to do it. For as many BA articles as I've posted in recent months, I seem to be sitting on a few more. For example, when they had their all-rookie team, Ackley, Carp, and Pineda made it. Neat. There was also a piece on how many prospects each team had in the league rankings, which indicated that the M's were pretty well represented, and a subscriber article where instructs, and Littlewood, are talked about. None of these are crazy important, but heck, I've had these tabs open forever and that's surely wasteful. The more pertinent article of the week is the Geoff Baker story on Forrest Snow, which talks a bit about how the Brewers liked him in high school (BUT WE DRAFTED HIM THEN) and how his change-up is improving. I got some comments last week about my reference to using him in a bullpen role, and to clarify, that's not because I think of him as not good enough to start, but more because we have Paxton, Hultzen, and Ramirez in the near term with Walker soon following, and if all goes well, they would likely provide better options than Snow, who could also do quite well for himself in relief. And if things don’t go well (prospects: things rarely go well), he's important depth. There was also a blurb on Hultzen, who will be starting in the Rising Stars Game on Saturday. In the article, Grant Green describes Hultzen's change-up as "disgusting". I like taking such statements literally, as in there's something in the rotation of the ball out of Hultzen's hand that causes nausea in the batter, who then swings as nothing more than a gag reflex.

This isn't "official" yet, but we're also supposedly hiring Chris Gwynn from the Padres to be the farm director because Pedro would prefer to be coaching. This is one of those things where the immediate inclination to analyze basically fails us. When Hunter lost the job, we had known Hunter for a while, at least for his sweet Cardenales hat, and could talk about him in that context. When Pedro took over, we could talk about how Pedro had been the manager in Everett for a while, held various roles before short-season ball opened up, and was known through the system. Gwynn is an outsider, taking over at a position where all impact will be long-term impact. Whether this is actually good or not good, I don't really think we'll know for a while if ever.

So let's talk about stats and stuff. Hultzen is always a place to start, and this week he finally got his strikeout on, K'ing five in 3.2 innings, but he also gave up a run. Which is to say I'm complaining about a single run, which feels petty. It was the fourth inning, there was a home run with one out, and that was followed by a walk, another flyout, and a double to Grant Green who previously acknowledged Hultzen to be a good pitcher. Rather than figure out what Hultzen had left, he was pulled in favor of a reliever who got the next batter to line out. Disaster averted, barely… According to Gameday, Hultzen topped out at 95 during the game, but that happened once, and he hit 94 once, and 93 about five times. Most often, he was in the 90-92 range. I believe that his velocity was higher last week.

The other pitchers? Well, Snow finally had another walk and an unearned run score against him. If this is an off week for him, I'll take it. Moran had only one appearance, with some good and some bad, two Ks in two innings, a hit, a walk, two wild pitches. Hensley walked give in three innings this week and gave up five hits. I'm not a big fan of that. Did you know that the AFL only goes until the 17th of November. I mean, we're approaching the two-thirds mark here.

Hitters should get some mention as well. On the positive end of things, Moore is slowly working his way up and batted something like .308/.357/.385 this week. Chiang had his slugging drop off a bit, with two singles on the week, but the overall line is still respectable and he walked again. Franklin did not have a good week. I think it's probably more important that he just get playing time.

This means that we're shifting over to the Dominican Republic. Castro had a decent start this week, with three Ks and only one hit in the three innings he pitched, but Paredes gave up a couple of runs and with so few innings pitched that really did a number on his ERA, or two numbers, five and four. He hadn't allowed any runs before. This is all a means of delaying discussion of Peguero, who was slugging .650 last week and is now slugging .769. You'll also note that his OBP fell off by twenty-six points and the average slipped too. But the important thing I suppose is that 50% of his hits this week were dingers. There's a Carlos Peguero article floating around somewhere. It may not be written yet, but we'll see it at some point in the offseason. It's only be a matter of time.

This week, I've also added some other IBAF stats because I had been following a website that was supposed to list the affiliated players, and did a rather shoddy job of it. Sams ended up being helpful in the run for the Netherlands. Patterson proved to be a solid reliever again. Britton... man, what is up with Britton? That I just wasn't expecting. I should have Nicaraguan League stats up for next week and I'm wondering if he can keep it up. The power isn't especially interesting, but the walks. The walks!

That brings us to Venezuela where as usual, everything is happening. This week was rather light on good pitching news, what with Grube not starting for whatever reason. Campos got knocked around a bit, which is to be expected given his experience. Cesar Jimenez is now active, and Jose, no relation, gave up a run this week. Nava is new-ish, or has pitched enough for me to list him now, Pryor quieted his ERA a bit, Raga is still keeping his head above water, Medina is pitching about at the level you'd expect with some props for additional Ks this week. I guess if there were to things that jumped out at me this week, it would be that Ramirez is still starting, and doing well, and Robles is not starting and gave up a hit and two walks to load the bases (or reload, not certain) before getting the hook. Ramirez pitched 152.2 innings this year, a full frame more than he did last year, and while I see some value in letting him work on some stuff in the LVBP this year, I think that the inning cap for him should probably be approaching pretty soon here, like within the next three or four starts let's say. As for Robles, I don't really know what to say. I think that other people have generally liked him better than I have and while he is coming back from a minor elbow surgery, I'm starting to think that there's something else that might be wrong with him. With other pitchers coming up the pipeline, Robles' window could be closing.

And hitting? There's some of that too. The riser this week was Luis Antonio Jimenez, who went yard four times in ten hits and seems to be locked in after an uneven first week. I don't know that this means a great deal for us when Carp seems to have the inside track on the DH job. Unless we're putting him in left. I would prefer not to. Another player who rebounded was Mike Wilson, who hit .273/.333/.545 this week at a time when a lot of people probably weren't thinking much of him. He's still on the 40-man for now. How long that lasts may depend on how long he keeps it up. Also, if you're still a Luis Rodriguez fan from his early season magic, then good news, he walked seven times this week. The rest was less positive. Francisco Martinez slid a little, and a good chunk of his value right now is tied up in that average. Liddi and Saunders have also continued to drop, and while the direct competition for both of them, Seager and probably Casper Wells, remains inactive this winter, if they can't capitalize on that then it's putting them at more of a disadvantage. Which is to say, I'm closing this particular week by stating obvious things.]]>marinerminors@hotmail.com (Jay Yencich)OctoberSun, 30 Oct 2011 20:58:30 +0000Franklin Falls in Cal Rankings, Everyone Shockedhttp://www.marinersminors.com/2011-articles/september/franklin-falls-in-cal-rankings-everyone-shocked.html
http://www.marinersminors.com/2011-articles/september/franklin-falls-in-cal-rankings-everyone-shocked.htmlSS Nick Franklin at #12 on their Top 20 Cal League Prospects list, so it's not as though we went without adequate representation.

There's only so much that I think can be reasonably said about this particular ranking. It's not necessarily a good ranking, or founded in good reasoning, but to set Franklin a few spots higher would create its own set of issues. It's not the scouting report that interests me, because it has the same broad strokes we have read in every Franklin scouting report to date: he's aggressive, makes good contact, probably doesn't have as much power as last season would have led people to believe, and is one of a number of middle infield prospects who draws complaints that he's a future second baseman due to lack of arm strength. Let's not pretend that any of this is new.

What interests me about the ranking is how little we actually know about Franklin after this season. In the Cal League, there was a process at times, one that I'd like to pump up as a big important thing when so many prospects that end in in High Desert develop tendencies that will only hurt them down the road. However, Franklin wasn't all that great even with the process, and in the month or so prior to his promotion, his walk rate and home/road splits had only been getting worse.. We all know what happened from there: he got promoted, ran a .387 wOBA through close to a hundred plate appearances, and then got hit in the head, went down with food poisoning, and contracted mono. There's even a suggestion in the BA list that Franklin's low power in the league was a symptom of the mono before he was officially diagnosed. Franklin did pretty darned well in the Southern League, but a lot of prospects have the capacity to do well or quite poorly in brief appearances in a new environment. It doesn't mean as much as we think it does in most cases.

I would argue that Franklin is probably going to end up as one of the more contentious prospects in the offseason. Some are going to look at him and see the middling performance in the Cal League and begin to write him off as a flash in the pan. Others are going to argue for context and bump up his ranking because his health issues were largely freak incidents and he remains very young for each level he's played at, sort of in the same way that Triunfel still found his way onto a lot of rankings. I don't know which side I come down on because neither assessment or set of expectations feels right to me at the moment. I suppose that people would prefer me to make an argument one way or another, but lacking quality information at present, I just don't want to do it. It's irresponsible.

Southern League rankings are coming next Wednesday, or somewhere in the vicinity of Wednesday. ]]>marinerminors@hotmail.com (Jay Yencich)SeptemberFri, 30 Sep 2011 22:33:18 +0000Game Recaps (8/31/11)http://www.marinersminors.com/2011-articles/august/game-recaps-83111.html
http://www.marinersminors.com/2011-articles/august/game-recaps-83111.htmlTucson 1(SD - 13), Tacoma 6 LHP Nate Robertson (6.52, W) had a heck of an outing, going eight innings with an unearned run scoring on five hits, a walk, and five Ks. RHP Chaz Roe (6.61) had an uneventful ninth. CF Greg Halman (R, 2 RBI, .290) and DH Luis Antonio Jimenez (R, RBI, .284) both had three hits in the game, C Chris Gimenez (R, .265), 3B Alex Liddi (E, .256), and RF Mike Wilson (R, .336) all had a hit and a walk, and 2B Sean Kazmar (R, .256) had two walks. Smoak was 0-for-3 with a walk. Sadface.

Rancho Cucamonga 8 (LA + 11), High Desert 7 RHP Taylor Stanton (6.33, L) pitched six and two-thirds with eight runs scoring on fifteen hits (2 HR), a wild pitch, two walks, and four Ks. No one can say he doesn't get his innings in. RHP Stephen Kahn (6.17) had two walks in the next inning and a third and RHP Willy Kesler (3.80) allowed a hit in the eighth. LF Daniel Carroll (HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, SB, .297) and DH Joe Dunigan (HR, 2 R, .239) both had a home run, with Carroll adding a walk and Dunigan adding two walks. Joe Dunigan has ten home runs with the Mavs now. Joe Dunigan has been playing with the Mavs for a month. My head hurts. C Jack Marder (2B, R, RBI, .300) came off the DL and delivered a double and RF James MCOwen (RBI, .267) and SS Leury Bonilla (RBI, .309) both had two singles.

Clinton 10, Quad Cities 21 (STL + 12) This is a heck of a series to end the regular season on. LHP Roenis Elias (6.32) had one of his catastrophic outings and let nine runs score through an inning and two-thirds on ten hits (2 HR), a couple walks, and a K. LHP Ryan Kiel (3.24) got the next inning and a third and had six runs (one earned) score on five hits and a hit batter while he was on the mound. RHP Jonathan Arias (3.19) then let four runs score on five hits (HR), a couple walks, and four Ks in the next two innings and RHP Ben Versnik (4.50) gave up a solo shot in the two innings he pitched. Even though the Lumberkings just had a fake day off with the rain out, they were still shorthanded or something. Maybe they just didn't want a probable postseason opponent to know their bullpen too well. At any rate, LF-LHP Robbie Anston (9.00) took over in the ninth and let a run score on a hit batter and three walks. SS Brad Miller (2B, 2 R, E, .324), CF Mike McGee (2 R, RBI, .278), 2B Stefen Romero (R, 2 RBI, .279), C John Hicks (2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, .310), and 3B Anthony Phillips (.203) all had two hits with Hicks and Phillips adding walks. Anyone who read the wrap this week knows how Hicks walks are worth getting excited over. 1B Tim Morris (RBI, .252) had two walks and LF-CF Julio Morban (2 R, .255) had a single and a walk.

Everett 1, Spokane 3 (TEX - 9) RHP Jose Campos (2.32, L) had an off-start by his standards, which is to say he let three runs score on five hits (HR) and two walks against three Ks in just five innings of work. RHP Joshua Corrales (0.00), recently imported from Pulaski, gave up a hit and struck out three over the final three innings. Only one of the outs on balls in play tonight came in the air. RF Mario Yepez (.329) and all-star LF Jabari Blash (2B, HR, .296) both had two hits in the game.

Thursday's Games: Tacoma: TBA, in Tacoma, @ 7:05 pm PDT Jackson: RHP Andrew Carraway, at Jacksonville, @ 10:05 am PDT High Desert: TBA, in Adleanto, @ 7:05 pm PDT Clinton: RHP Carter Capps, at Quad Cities, @ 5:00 pm PDT Everett: TBA, at Spokane, @ 4:30 pm PDT Pulaski: Season over, third place in APL East Peoria: Season over, second place in AZL West Aguirre: Season over, tied for third place Yamasa: Season over, lost in second round of playoffs

]]>marinerminors@hotmail.com (Jay Yencich)AugustThu, 01 Sep 2011 05:29:31 +0000Game Recaps (7/31/11)http://www.marinersminors.com/2011-articles/july/game-recaps-73111.html
http://www.marinersminors.com/2011-articles/july/game-recaps-73111.htmlthe Bedard deal at USSM. I probably don't seem like I like it as much as I do but that's because years of Fontaine drafts made me somewhat suspicious of picking up guys in the midst of a breakout season. It doesn't seem to work out as well as we hope it does. But Chiangs' breakout could be health-related as he's figuring out how to deal with diabetes, so he could turn into something special for us if we're lucky. I think another factor influencing my present bearish attitude is that we have like eight hundred corner outfield prospects and a lot of money which is tied up in Franklin Gutierrez regardless of whether or not he's healthy. If our outfield depth was just normal, I'd be stoked. As it stands, this is harder for me to conceptualize. Anyway, let's get on with this as it will be another Sunday in which I don't get to go to bed until after 3 am.

Las Vegas 3 (TOR - 1), Tacoma 4
LHP Luke French (5.49, W) now has more winds than losses, pitching six and two-thirds innings this time out and allowing three runs to score on five hits, three walks, and two Ks. WILL HE BE OUR NEW #5 STARTER? I'm not betting on it, but he is on the 40-man. LHP Cesar Jimenez (4.15) pitched the next inning and a third and allowed two hits and two walks while striking out one. Divish says that Liddi saved his bacon by "making a ridiculous over his shoulder catch in foul territory". RHP Scott Patterson (3.62, S) saved it with a couple of Ks in the ninth.
RF Carlos Peguero (HR, 3 RBI, .301) hit a home run, his seventh of the year. He has to assert his position somehow. SS Kyle Seager (3B, R, .408) tripled, CF Michael Saunders (R, .298) singled and walked, and 2B Sean Kazmar (.258) had a pair of singles.

Mississippi 1 (ATL - 4), Jackson 2
LHP James Paxton (2.49) pretty much killed it tonight, going six and a third innings with a run scoring on a solo shot. He only allowed four other hits and no walks, striking out eight. No win for him though, as the Braves starter pretty much matched him pitch for pitch. RHP Steve Delabar (2.15) had three hits and three walks against one K in an inning of work. The joys of coming in mid-inning. RHP Stephen Pryor (1.80, W) left the bases juiced for him and walked one while striking out five, which was all the outs he recorded. I don't know that he deserved the win more than Pax, but I am in no way dissatisfied by this outcome.
2B Scott Savastano (2B, R, .293) had two hits and a walk from the leadoff spot. That position seems weird to me. 3B Vinnie Catricala (3B, R, .368) tripled and played the hot corner because Martinez still isn't in yet. DH Luis Antoino Jimenez (.348) walked twice and 1B Rich Poythress (RBI, .260) had a single and a walk.

High Desert 2, Lake Elsinore 3 (SD + 8)
At least it wasn't a doubleheader. RHP Kenn Kasparek (4.63), who is still here for some reason, pitched seven innings and allowed two runs on four hits, a hit batter, and seven Ks. LHP Jose Jimenez (6.96) walked one and hit one in the eighth and RHP Stephen Kahn (7.94, L) lost it when a run score on three hits and a hit batter with two outs in the ninth.
RF Matt Cerione (RBI, SB, A, .269) had two singles. That's as much as I have to work with.

Peoria 1 (CHC - 13), Clinton 2 (eleven innings)
Tee hee. So LHP Tony Butler (2.41, 2 PO, E) went seven strong with four hits and a walk allowed against four Ks. RHP Jonathan Arias (3.09) then took over in relief and was pretty great, with one hit, one walk, and five Ks in three innings as the game was scoreless into extras. RHP Tyler Blandford (9.70, W) was in line for the loss because he let a run score on three hits and a K in the top half of the eleventh, but then we got some runs.
With two outs, Wiswall singled, and then so did 3B Matt Browning (R, 2-5, .237). Something seemed to be afoot, so Anston came in to run for Wiswall. Phillips was then hit by a pitch to load the bases and 2B Carlos Ramirez (2 RBI, E, 2-4, .232) shot one through the hole to right field to score two runs. DH Stefen Romero (2B, .269) also had a double in the game.

Boise 4 (CHC - 2), Everett 9
RHP Vicente Campos (2.79, W) had another good and interesting start, this time pitching six+ innings and allowing two runs (one earned) to score on four hits and six Ks. LHP Cameron Hobson (3.38) had a hit, a walk, and a K in the next two innings and then RHP Max Krakowiak (3.38) had two unearned runs score on two hits in the ninth. Some defensive issues were afoot tonight.
Fortunately, the offense did enough to try to compensate for that. The five through seven hitters of DH James Wood (2B, 2 R, .269), 3B Ramon Morla (2 R, .311), and LF Patrick Brady (2B, R, RBI, CS, .284) all had three hits in the game. C Larry Gonzalez (2B, 3B, R, 3 RBI, .203) and 2B Jorge Agudelo (R, 2 RBI, SB, .202), the two batters that followed that pack, had two hits apiece. CF Jarrett Burgess (2B, R, E, .261) doubled and walked and 1B Jharmidy de Jesus (HR ,2 RBI, 2 E, .327) had a home run, his third.

Burlington 2 (KC - 11), Pulaski 4
I don't know how the pitching worked out with the rain so this just looks like bullpen day to me. LHP Kyle Hunter (1.61) struck out two in the first and then RHP Brett Shankin (5.94) took over for three innings and had a run score against him on three hits, a balk, a hit batter, a walk, and three Ks. RHP David Colvin (1.00, W) had similar totals, minus the balk, hit batter, and walk, plus he had an extra K and his run was unearned. RHP Bobby Shore (1.69, PO) had a hit and a walk in the next two-thirds and RHP John Taylor (0.00, S) had two hits, a hit batter, a walk, and a K in the final inning and a third.
CF Jamal Austin (2B, CS, .403) got back over .400 with three hits. 2B Dan Paolini (3B, R, 2 RBI, .279) added two hits and a walk.

Burlington 4 (KC - 10), Pulaski 3 (seven innings)
Now, this. RHP Ambioris Hidalgo (3.42) made an all-too-rare appearance and hat a hit, a hit batter, and a strikeout to his name through two innings. RHP Jose Valdivia (4.50) pitched the next four and had two runs (one earned) plate on four hits (HR), a wild pitch, two walks, and two Ks. RHP Bo Reeder (5.54, L) struck out the side and let two score on two hits (HR) in the seventh. So we lost it.
CF Jamal Austin (R, SB, .406) and RF Efrain Nunez (.262) both had two hits which means that Austin remains over .400 for another day. 2B Dan Paolini (R, SB, .266) had two walks and LF Guillermo Pimentel (R, RBI, SB, .264) had a single and a walk.

AZL Giants 8 ,Peoria Mariners 4
RHP Jochi Ogando (5.63) had yet another rough outing, this time letting two score on two hits, a walk, and two Ks. RHP David Holman (7.85) had it worse, with four runs in four innings on six hits, two hit batters, a walk, and a K. LHP Scott Ronnenbergh(5.48) pitched the final three innings and let two score on three hits (HR), a walk, and three Ks.
2B Felipe Burin (2B, R, 2 E, .306) and 3B Jose Martinez (2B, 2 RBI, CS, .275) both had three hits in the game. PH-C Travis Higgs (2B, RBI, .353), 1B Reginald Lampe (2B, .204), and SS Roberto Velasquez (2B, R, .250) all doubled. PH-DH Yidid Batista (R, .324) walked twice.

Organization Record:
Tacoma Rainiers: 54-55, .495, 9.5 GB in PCL Pacific Northern
Jackson Generals: 15-21 (53-53), .417 (.500), 6 GB in SL North
High Desert Mavericks: 12-23 (44-61), .343 (.419), 9.5 GB in CAL South
Clinton Lumberkings: 19-16 (43-62), .543 (.410), 2 GB in MWL Western
Everett Aquasox: 3-2 (19-24), .600 (.442), 1 GB in NWL West
Pulaski Mariners: 19-21, .475, 4 GB in APL East
Peoria Mariners: 16-15, .516, 6.5 GB in AZL West
Aguirre Mariners: 34-31, .523, 2 GB in VSL
Yamasa Mariners: 37-16 .698, 1st in Santo Domingo Norte
Overall Record: 318-340, .483]]>marinerminors@hotmail.com (Jay Yencich)JulyMon, 01 Aug 2011 06:11:59 +0000Game Recaps (4/30/11)http://www.marinersminors.com/2011-articles/april/game-recaps-43011.html
http://www.marinersminors.com/2011-articles/april/game-recaps-43011.htmlTacoma 11, Reno 9 (ARI + 6)
I can imagine that sometime, around last Sunday at a team dinner, there was some discussion and eventually someone stood up and said "We can't let the Mariners overshadow us! We're the Rainiers!" and thus it began. It would make more sense if the Mariners had been losing recently too and hey, they haven't been! Six runs were scored in the ninth by the Rainiers. Take as much time to process that as you need. LHP Chris Seddon (3.77) worked himself into an early hole by giving up seven runs (six earned) through five innings on eight hits (HR), two wild pitch, a hit batter, a walk, and five Ks. LHP Edward Paredes (9.72, PO) when had a hit, a walk and a K in the sixth and was one of two pitchers to not allow a run on the evening. RHP Manny Delcarmen (5.56, W) let the other two score on three hits and a walk against two Ks in the next two innings and then some crazy stuff went down that ultimately resulted in the win. RHP Denny Bautista (7.59, S) saved it with a hit, a walk, and a K in the ninth.
I suppose I haven't mentioned yet that the Rainiers scored eleven runs without the aid of dingers and such. With one out in the ninth, 2B Dustin Ackley (R, 0-4, 2 BB, .211) walked, LF Matt Tuiasosopo (2B, 2 R, 1-6, .221) reached on an error, 1B Matt Mangini (2B, R, 3 RBI, 3-5, .333) singled to drive in both, and then Peguero was hit by a pitch, so in the span of four batters, we have four different ways of reaching base. Following that, 3B Alex Liddi (R, 0-3, 2 BB, .210) walked again, DH Johan Limonta (2B, 3 R, RBI, 3-5, .352) singled to drive in Mangini, CF Mike Wilson (2B, R, 3 RBI, .333) had a two-RBI double, then Yepez was hit by a pitch to re-load the bases. SS Sean Kazmar (3 RBI, 2 E, 2-4, BB, .214), who made the earlier out, grounded into a force, then Ackley walked again but Tui grounded out. If you look at most of the game at the plate for Kazmar aside from that inning and how he was on the field, he was all right.

Jackson 5, Chattanooga 2 (LA + 1)
RHP Kenn Kasparek (3.09, W) turned in a strong effort, giving up an unearned run on four hits, two walks, and five Ks in six and a third innings. LHP Bobby LaFromboise (3.00, PO) then pitched an inning and two-thirds, with a hit and a K to his line. RHP Steven Richard (4.50) had another unearned run score against him on a walk and a K in the ninth. Weirdest of all, there are no errors on the record for the evening, so I can only assume that they scored on the two passed balls by Bantz.
LF Jake Shaffer (2B, R, .358), 2B Kyle Seager (2 2B, R, RBI, .322), and 1B Rich Poythress (HR, 2 R, 3 RBI, .254) all had two hits in the game. Since he's no longer playing in the Cal League, it's now cool to get excited about Poythress home runs again. CF James McOwen (2B, RBI, .267) doubled.

Rancho Cucamonga 8 (LA + 5), High Desert 3
For five and two-thirds innings, RHP Jimmy Gillheeney (3.04. E) was in charge, and though he let two runs score, he only had two hits and a hit batter and struck out ten. The rest of the bullpen wasn't so dominant. RHP Austin Hudson (3.09, BS, L) scored one of those runs and two of his own on four hits and a K in an inning and a third, then RHP Stephen Pryor (INF) opened the eighth allowing three walks and a wild pitch without recording an out. RHP Daniel Cooper (6.23) scored all three and one of his own on two hits and a walk in the final two innings.
The offense gave us a little to work with, but nothing too terribly exciting. CF Denny Almonte (2B, R, .333), 1B Dennis Raben (RBI, .258), 3B Mario Martinez (.235), and 2B Gabriel Noriega (RBI, E, .205) all had two hits, but Almonte's was the only double, and RF James Jones (.136) had a single and one of the team's two walks. The Mavs had just as many Ks hitting as they did pitching.

Clinton 5, Wisconsin 2 (MIL - 5)
Huzzah! RHP George Mieses (4.01, W) got his first win in a start that I would characterize by its damage control. He allowed one run in five frames despite eight hits, a wild pitch, three walks, and only three Ks. That's a lot of stranded runners. LHP Edlando Seco (9.53) didn't have such mojo going for him, as he let a run score on a hit batter, a double, and a K. RHP Willy Kesler (1.23) came on for an inning and two-thirds, allowing three hits, balking, and throwing a wild pitch, and then RHP Tyler Burgoon (1.23, S) notched his third save with a walk in the ninth. Kesler has twice as many innings pitched and twice as many earned runs, in case you were wondering about the identical ERAs.
DH Tim Morris (2 R, SB, .329) and LF Stefen Romero (HR, 2 RBI, .172) both had a hit and two walks in the game. With three home runs just this week, and a 2/3 K/BB, Romero could be sneaking into some Player of the Week discussion from my end. C Steve Baron (PB, .250) also had two walks, but no hits and another passed ball. Baron has more walks now than he did in his entire fifty-three game Everett tenure last year, and as many as he had in Pulaski in thirty games of his debut year. RF Julio Morban (3B, R, RBI, .293) contributed two hits, which included his third triple of the year.

Organization Record:
Tacoma Rainiers: 8-15, .348, 6.5 GB in PCL Pacific Northern
Jackson Generals: 11-10, .524, 3 GB in SL North
High Desert Mavericks: 9-14 .391, 4 GB in CAL South
Clinton Lumberkings: 7-16, .304, 10 GB in MWL Western
Overall Record: 35-55, .389]]>marinerminors@hotmail.com (Jay Yencich)AprilSun, 01 May 2011 05:36:54 +0000Odds and Ends (2/23/10)http://www.marinersminors.com/2011-articles/february/odds-and-ends-22310.html
http://www.marinersminors.com/2011-articles/february/odds-and-ends-22310.html
• A couple of weeks ago, I did a Q & A at Mariner Central where I answered such questions as how much did it matter that most of our teams went to the playoffs last season, which were the strongest and weakest positions internally, and what my favorite story of last season was. There were a number of good interviews throughout Lonnie’s series, so I’d recommend checking them out if you get a minute.
• Monday morning I posted a list of articles and commentary on minor league stories from camp at USSMariner. I’m hoping to make this a more regular thing, but that’s somewhat dependent on whether or not there’s enough to talk about in any given week (Carlos Peguero hits a home run off Manny Declarmen? I… uh…)
• Over the past month or so I’ve been in talks with the people that bring you Grand Salami Magazine and it looks as though I’ll be writing for them this season. Print media: still relevant.
• Speaking of media, I've received some inquiries as to when I'll write about the '11 Media Guide or where one can find one online. To answer those questions in reverse order, I have no idea and probably after I figure that out.
• As long as I’m here, I should comment on Baseball America’s Top 100 because everyone likes lists. Interesting to note that Dustin Ackley dropped a spot to #12 this year in spite of doing a bit to clear up his eventual position this season. Also, note that Ackley was ahead of Smoak last year. Pineda ranks #16 and then you have to go all the way down to #53 to get Nick Franklin. While we talk as though the top three spots are pretty much locked up, it seems that the prospecting world broadly regards it as more of a one-two punch, which is a phrase we’ve heard in spring training for a few years now in a different context.]]>marinerminors@hotmail.com (Jay Yencich)FebruaryWed, 23 Feb 2011 22:45:00 +0000Winter Leagues Stats Wrap (12/24/11)http://www.marinersminors.com/2011-articles/december/winter-leagues-stats-wrap-122411.html
http://www.marinersminors.com/2011-articles/december/winter-leagues-stats-wrap-122411.htmlArizona Fall League (FINAL):
RF Chih-Hsien Chiang: 20 G, 76 AB, 9 R, 20 H, 3 2B, 3B, HR, 6 RBI, SB, 15/9 K/BB, .263/.337/.368
RHP Steven Hensley: 1-1, 11 G, 11.30 ERA in 14.1 IP, 23 H (2 HR), 18 R, 15/16 K/BB, 2 HB
LHP Danny Hultzen: 1-0, 6 GS, 1.40 ERA in 19.1 IP, 16 H (HR), 3 R, 18/5 K/BB, 2 WP
SS Nick Franklin: 24 G, 89 AB, 15 R, 23 H, 4 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 14 RBI, SB, 25/11 K/BB, .258/.333/.393
C Adam Moore: 15 G, 54 AB, 9 R, 14 H, 3 2B, 8 RBI, CS, 15/6 K/BB, 2 HBP, .259/.355/.315
LHP Brian Moran: 1-0, 11 G, 1.32 ERA in 13.2 IP, 10 H, 2 R, 11/4 K/BB
RHP Forrest Snow: 1-1, 10 G (GS), 1.10 ERA in 16.1 IP, 10 H (HR), 8 R (2 ER), 16/3 K/BB, WP

There's one more Greg Halman article this week, and that's one where Mike Carp shares his thoughts about Halman. As you might guess, it's one that's rooted in the personal, so it can be a little intense at times.

In addition to the signings that happened last week, we also had some releases as the M's got rid of RHP Gregorio Aquino, RHP Chia-An Huang (who even knew he was still system property?), RHP Bryan Leigh, C Travis Higgs, C Billy Marcoe (which means the loss of a cheering section in Everett), 1B Ethan Paquette, 3B Matt Browning, and 3B Stephen Cochrane. I think the biggest thing I have to say about all this is, really? Huang was still around? Anyway, none of these cuts are major ones even on an organization level. Higgs hit well in short-season ball, but was way too old for it and is competing against a bunch of other 2011 drafted catchers. Browning is one more name to add to the list of guys who hit well in Pulaski and nowhere else.

Overall, this was another one of those weeks where there's more to talk about elsewhere than with the stats themselves. The coolest thing I came across this week was a video of Denny Almonte in the ABL All-Star Game where he made a great diving catch and later hit a home run. You can also navigate over from there and get a video of McOwen making a catch near his shoes. These videos in and of themselves were the biggest thing going on down there because otherwise, you had a few positive games from McOwen and that was it. In the Dominican, Peguero hit another dinger and struck out a few times. Triunfel is still struggling and not walking. Paredes' stats remain jumpy because someone isn't keeping track of things down there. Britton slipped a little in Nicaragua, though not significantly.

In Venezuela, the pickings were unusually slim. Running down the list of actives, you had Campos, Hernandez, Jose Jimenez, Luis Antonio Jimenez, Limonta, Quiroz, and Yepez. That was the extent of it. Yepez slipped. Quiroz was pretty consistent but lost some slugging. Limonta also maintained the batting average while losing a little in peripherals. Hitting Jimenez is mostly the same. Pitching Jimenez avoided some minor trouble. Hernandez is getting closer and closer to that vaunted single-digit ERA. Campos didn't have a good week and gave up a few too many hits and hit a couple of guys, which led to some problems.

Happy Holidays, all. I'll be checking in with the last post next week. Despite its coming on New Year's Eve, I'm not really anticipating anything flashy.]]>marinerminors@hotmail.com (Jay Yencich)DecemberSat, 24 Dec 2011 20:09:10 +0000Greg Halman, Gone at 24http://www.marinersminors.com/2011-articles/november/greg-halman-gone-at-24.html
http://www.marinersminors.com/2011-articles/november/greg-halman-gone-at-24.html The next year, we got a little taste. Halman played twenty-six games in the Arizona League, and while the numbers weren't all there, it was enough to where some of us were complaining in the offseason that the scouts had been underestimating him based on his numbers alone. The following season, I was up in Everett on assignment every now and then and had a few opportunities to see him. It was strange in that, before I got there, my mind had already built him up to a kind of legendary status, like I was only there to see the first inklings of what history might write about later. I remember his presence in the batter's box, how as an athlete he seemed like so much more of an athlete than even his fellow professionals. And I remember sitting there, some tens of feet away in the press box, watching as whoever was on the mound at the time threw a few pitches low and outside and Halman swung right through them. It was anticlimactic, certainly. Like a lot of the kids I came to see there in the following years, it seemed like Halman was trying to do too much with any given pitch, which is one of those traits we come to look on as a flaw. Every ball that was coming at him, in his mind was a home run in the making. And it was a good show nonetheless because we knew he was young and on the field and in the dugout, Halman was all smiles. There was some hope that he'd figure it out in time.

The next spring, Halman got his expected shot in Wisconsin. And he didn't do with it what we had all hoped he would and got sent back to Arizona partway through the spring. As usual, I made my way up to Everett for the season opener expecting to see certain things. It was the year in which all the starting outfielders were built like football players, Joe Dunigan in left, Halman in center, and some combination of Wellington Dotel and Kalian Sams in right. I remember looking over the lineup card and seeing Halman high in the order and figured I'd pull out my legal pad and start scratching down some notes comparing what I was seeing now to what I had seen before. Given that he was coming off a pretty sad Midwest League campaign, I don't know that I was expecting to see all that much, but as that first at-bat went down, I stopped writing and started to really watching what was happening. The outcome was nothing special. Halman got jammed and popped out to the shortstop. But I remember the process, and I remember turning to media intern in the booth and telling her "I just saw three pitches in that at-bat that last year's Halman would have swung through. He didn't bite this time." Halman, when I first saw him in 2006, went 0-for-4 with a couple of Ks. This time, he was 2-for-4 with a run scored. I don't know that anyone else in the booth was excited as I was to see all this, but by the time the season was over, everyone else knew. Even through the extreme highs and lows of the following seasons, when all hopes were pinned on him or his future seemed to look like a backup outfielder's, I remembered those four at-bats, June 19th 2007.

***

My mornings are pretty basic. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, so it starts slow for me and I usually go downstairs and turn on my computer, catching up on the news in brief before I do much of anything else. I sit down, and the news is going through its usual crawl, there's news on the congress debt deal, people are talking about Thanksgiving, or the latest spin on yesterday's football games and how much they affect the rest of the season. About page six through the crawl, a familiar face shows up with the caption "Mariners Player Stabbed to Death", and I pause it.

I know what I'm seeing is real, though it doesn't seem that way. My mind starts running through a list of elegies I've read over the course of my life and the one that sticks, for whatever reason, is Frank O'Hara's "The Day Lady Died". I don't like O'Hara all that much, but it seems to fit. Five minutes prior, I was looking through the fridge for something to eat and getting a glass of water so I could take an antibiotic. I was thinking about my day and all the things I needed to do and what order to go about them and in a few seconds all of that is irrelevant because Greg Halman is dead. Everything else has stopped.

I spend some time on the websites and see how other people are responding. I read stories about how Halman was just coming off a European tour by a group of MLB players and how, at a stop in the Czech Republic (regarded by some as the next country over there where baseball will break out), Halman got the biggest cheers of anyone outside of Prince Fielder. Halman, after all, was the guy who made it. Sometime after that, I start typing. I think of all the things we typically say when someone dies too early, about how our thoughts and prayers are with the family, how the death is "tragic" and so many other things, how he'll be missed. I know how much we mean in these things that we say, and how while we all know them to be true, it's hard to think of how these words can do so little to allay the visceral shock of the experience, how we will go on through our days and meet the people that we meet and there may not be any way of relating these things we learned this morning.

Much more will be said in the coming days, by people close to Halman or by others who saw him come up the minor league ladder. Whether or not it's enough, I don't know that it matters because so much of the time, the most important thing we can do is remember. And I know I've read this a couple of times on a couple of different blogs already, but I hope those kids on the European tour that cheered Halman, that took their photos with him, and were in awe that someone from their backyard could make it to the big leagues, I hope that some of them get to the majors some day and have the kind of career that Greg Halman wasn't able to have, and that years down the line we're able to talk about him and remember him, not for all of the tragedy of what could have been, but for the example he served in his time here and all that he was able to accomplish for European baseball.]]>marinerminors@hotmail.com (Jay Yencich)NovemberMon, 21 Nov 2011 21:26:27 +0000